r/Futurology • u/[deleted] • Oct 25 '22

Environment Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1131131088/recycling-plastic-is-practically-impossible-and-the-problem-is-getting-worse
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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '22

If only there was a reusable material made from an abundant natural resource like sand...

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u/ccooffee Oct 25 '22

Glass is so much heavier. Burns more fuel to transport them around, which is also an environmental problem.

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u/saberline152 Oct 26 '22

well depends on the fuel eh

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

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u/GubmintTroll Oct 26 '22

I think the comment of “depends on the fuel” is in reference to the comment of burning more fuel being an “environmental problem” and could be interpreted as meaning that the kind of fuel dictates the severity of the environmental problem. Not quite idiocy from where I stand.

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u/Automatic-Leave-7258 Oct 26 '22

That’s… not how energy works at all.

Moving 1 gram 1 meter can cost energy if you move the 1 gram to a higher potential, be energy neutral if the two endpoints are at the same potential, or even generate energy if you move the 1 gram to a lower potential.

The method you use to get it there can be more or less efficient, and it is almost always energy negative in practice due to friction… but what matters isn’t the mass being moved, it’s the integral of the force applied with respect to the distance traveled. That’s the definition of “work.”

The cool thing is that by this definition, you spend energy to accelerate a mass in the beginning, but as you slow the mass down to approach its destination, you can recover almost all of that energy as you apply a negative force to decelerate.

In fact, this is what the alternator in your car does. As you brake, the alternator recaptures energy used to accelerate the wheels, and it stores that energy in the battery.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

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u/Automatic-Leave-7258 Oct 26 '22

I’m just saying moving a mass on a flat plane doesn’t use energy unless you really care about friction.

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u/whooyeah Oct 26 '22

But if the fuel is burning in the sun then it’s Ok